The Forgotten C - Glasgow University Macmillan Society and the Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Support.
Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities in the UK and provides specialist health care, information, and financial support to people affected by cancer. The fundamental goal of Macmillan is to reach and improve the lives of everyone in the UK who has cancer. In order to help Macmillan meet this goal, the Glasgow University Macmillan Society was created in 2013. Since then, our society has worked hard to raise funds for Macmillan in lots of different ways! We have organised raffles, social events, bake sales and bucket collections in local supermarkets. Members of our society have had excellent opportunities working in fundraising, marketing, and event planning, all whilst aiding a fantastic cause.
The impact of coronavirus in 2020 has been distressing for everyone in many different ways. However, for those affected by cancer, coronavirus has made an already difficult time even harder. COVID-19 has led to 650,000 people with cancer in the UK experiencing delay or disruption to their care. For around 150,000 of these people, this included delayed, rescheduled, or cancelled treatment. Of these, more than half (57%) reported that they were worried that the delays to their treatment could affect their chance of survival. The detrimental impact of these delays and cancellations are not only physically damaging, but also lead to great emotional distress for cancer patients and their families.
Due to the severe damage that COVID-19 has had on cancer support, Macmillan Cancer Support launched their ‘Forgotten C’ campaign. The campaign advocates that cancer cannot become the forgotten ‘C’ during this pandemic and that national and local action is needed imminently to deliver cancer recovery plans, clear the backlog and get cancer services back on track. One way in which you can help Macmillan with their campaign is to add your name to their open letter to the UK Government which argues for urgent, radical action. This can be found on the Macmillan Cancer Support Website:
https://campaigns.macmillan.org.uk/page/69133/petition/1?locale=en-GB
Much like most other fundraising societies, Glasgow University Macmillan Society now faces the challenge of finding new ways to fundraise on campus. Ideally, we would be painting glitter on faces at HIVE or serving up some library treats outside of the Fraser building. However, we have had to get creative and turn to Zoom to keep up our fundraising! With this in mind, we have decided to host ‘Donate and Create with G-You and Macmillan’. During this exam season, it is so important to take some time out and de-stress, so why not join us on Friday the 11th of December at 6pm for some virtual baking! We ask that you kindly donate whatever you can to our just giving page as a donation to join:
The zoom link for the event will be shared on both of our social media channels so keep an eye out on Facebook and our Instagrams - @gyoumagazine and @glasgowunimacmillansoc. The more the merrier, and we would love to see as many faces as possible!